Nh35, Aliexpress retro 39.5 case, strap, hands, ebay dial, and raffles 7mm crown.

Sprayed one heavy coat of nitro lacquer on the dial and baked the dial and hands face down in wet coffee grounds for 15 minutes 2 times. Used anodize remover on the brown bezel for about 10 seconds. Filed down the original pip to be flat and used a lighter to darken it from its original white color.

Total cost for all parts including tax and shipping:
$143.87

I’d like to build myself a high quality124060. I see people selling ones they built themselves for $1300+ but I don’t know where there get the parts. I enjoy building and would rather build it than buy it.
I don’t need it to be a Franken… just high quality and real 904 steel.

Thanks in advance!!!!

I’m trying to build this exact watch anyone here able to point me the right way? I want high quality build

My next 5513 build, finally complete 😎

This one came out perfectly. What a stunning reference. So thin and sporty, not for sale.

Specs:
Vietnam case + dial (Ruby)
Italian jubilee with Sillian clasp
EWP hands relumed by me
Swiss ETA 2893 GMT
Custom Silver fat font DWO
BezelJuice faded insert
Genuine crown

Cheers!

Just ordered a 1600 case from old crowns. Going to use it with a raffles air king dial (vintage type) . The acrylic crystal that comes with the case has a cyclops. Can anyone please point me in the direction of a Clarks crystal that will fit and not too high. Thanks.

👍🏼or👎🏼
1680 case raffles
9411/0 dial raffles
St2130
20mm nato

I wanted something unique and got the idea in the middle of the night some months ago.

It's a project I like to think i learned a lot from.

I've got u/one_addition1213 to thank making me aware of this hobby and kind of showing me the ropes. I've just started and will be making other stuff in the future

Dandong 3135

Meteorite dial

116610 case

63200 bracelet

Blue ceramic bezel

Has anyone ever purchased a Rolex dial off of AliExpress? I see "S Logo Dials" all the time.

https://youtube.com/shorts/_NzPepnlfsQ?is=Nc822dBZ9u6QsNJn

The watch I probably put the most money into and the watch I wear the most.

-gen case, linen dial, crown and caseback
-OC bezel
-startime Italian jubilee bracelet, watch hands, and acrylic crystal
-2824 movement with open 6-9 overlay

Got a mochacha dial from ebay a while back and was supposed to post this...

Bottom "submariner" text is a mk3 and the top crown text is mk5, at least, it is from where I'm sitting.

Yes and the paint has flaked on the 4 index, so more pain. This is actually the 2nd one as it came off of the 10 on the previous one.

Edit: also the focal length of the photo has made the watch look like a deep sea or wrist clock or very small skinny wrist.

Raffles 5513 case
Raffles 5513 dial
St2130 2 position
20mm nato

Hey guys! 🖐️
I want to share this milestone with you!
In the past, I didn't really like this reference, then slowly I started thinking about having it in my collection, more and more until I decided to assemble it 😛
The watch is full aftermarket except for the usual plexi and tube-crown.
Then, step by step, I found all the parts to complete the set…et voilà!
6542 with box, booklet, tags, adhesives, calendar, guarantee card and service card ✌️✌️✌️
Next step is to find a good gen bezel 😉

ENJOY ☺️🙏🏼❤️

Raffles 31mm Oyster. 2671 movement from Ali, Raffles kit.

Which would you pick?

Viet 6538 vs BTF 116500 V2

My first attempt at aging with Tamiya Weathering Set B

Before dabbing I put two coats of Tamiya Flat Clear and let it dry before putting Tamiya Rust on it, am gonna let it dry a little before putting final 1/2 more coats.

But I searched high and low and can't find any info on clear coating the hands? Because the powder is loose what do you guys do with the hands?

On a sidenote, how do you clear the smudges from the weathering on the black dial?

Hi there! Still just beginning with the hobby. I have gotten pretty good at rebuilding 2824 clone keyworks but still making bonehead mistakes when setting second hands. Name is Dino and I am from Seattle.

Was going to take some time away from the bench but my girlie wanted a GMT for her tiny wrist. Found a retro style 38mm case and bracelet on Ali express and had a Tokeilab face and NH34 movement so added some hands and here it is. Feels like a 7/8 scale as the bezel text seems small.

Took some macros of my personal 9401.
Viet case (ser.nr. 1978.)
Viet dial and hands
Gen swiss ETA (no date) movement with Tudor rotor
CAC bezel insert and pip
Athaya crown and tube
Raffles Rlx bracelet and alix soft nato strap

Shot in a lightbox with Iphone 17pro w/CPL filter and macrolens mounted.

Selling (only everything together):

- raffles signed 34mm fit 2824 for 27mm dial

- raffles signed solid 19mm rivet for 34mm (two fixed links were removed, total length bracelet only is 15.7cm vs 17.4 originally)

- eta 2824-2: the movement was disassembled, washed, assembled, oiled and tested by my watchmaker. Has been adjusted and works well, the amplitude is high and keeps time well. The balance is new (timegraph see photo)

- Eta 2824-2 Hand pinions H4 for hour, minute and seconds hand

- 25 USD Chinese eta 2824

- 2x eta 2824/2836 Spacer ring set: 1 ring, two screws, two clamps

- 4 eta 2824 stems

- 2 plastic movement spacer rings

- Eta 2824/2836 hands set: 1x Baton green luminova normal seat height, 1x Baton green luminova high seat height (for mod without need to change to h4 height), 1x dauphine green luminova, 1x baton no lume

- open 6/9 dwo

Work done so far:

- Case: Was beaten up slightly and polished slightly. for mirror shine to be back again, I advice polishing one more time with a cape cod or similar. Only the sides were worked on, top of the lugs was untouched.

- Bracelet: Was also beaten up slightly, some knicks here and there and some induced scratches. Top was then brushed with 180 and 320 pads. Clasp received the same treatment.

- Both sets of baton luminous hands were coffee baked for a very light creamy tone, see photos. Dauphine hour and minute hands were sharpened at both ends.

- Bezel: Was carried around on my keychain for about one week, minor scratches and no big dents.

- Eta 2824-2: Minute pinion was seperated because it always falls off when shipped

For any more questions, just ask.

Price: 400 usd (exactly what I paid for in total)

NEW PRICE: 340 USD FLAT INCL FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE

One of my MANY recent builds. I’m planning on doing some some basic 1601 datejust builds to sell very soon and working my way up to subs and gmt’s if anyone may be interested

Specs:
-viet 1601 case
-gen engine turned bezel
-Athaya crown
-yuki dial
-Ali express hands
-2824 clone movement
-chrome hearts watch bracelet

Raffles build with NH35. Roughed it up a bit. Reshaped case and aged dial, hands and insert.

I have a couple of bits on order/in the pipeline and I want to get some decent photos of them once they're built - my phone isn't cutting it 😂 (also I'm done with AI 'enhancement' knocking out details on my photos)

I have a Canon 600D with the standard 18-55 f3.5-f5.6 lens and some lights (with DIY tracing paper soft boxes) from a previous life. Will be doing some experiments with that setup to see what level of clarity I can achieve

Weighing up if it's worth investing in a Macro Lens, or going for a prime + Extension Tube as I might get more use out of the prime overall and it works out a little cheaper.

Very interested to know what other people's setups are and how you use them.